SpaceX pulled off a full-duration engine test-firing of its Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today and the early review of data indicates the test was a success, the company reported.
Nine Merlin 1C engines on the first stage of the 157-foot rocket roared to life at 10:50 a.m. and fired for about two seconds. An earlier attempt to conduct the test-firing was halted at 9:30 a.m. when lower-than-allowable pressures were detected in the gas generator of Engine No. 6. High-than-allowable press readings in the same engine prompted a test abort 1.1 seconds into a test-firing on Friday.
A test success would clear the way for the launch next week of the Falcon 9 on a NASA demonstration test. Now set for launch Tuesday, the Falcon 9 will blast off on the first test flight for NASA of a Dragon spacecraft. Three demonstration flights are slated before Dragon spacecraft begin delivering cargo to the International Space Station late next year.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
An earlier attempt failed.
ReplyDeleteAn attempt last Friday failed.
Depends how you define "Success" I guess.
12:33pm, I don't know what you are complaining about. They had one failed attempt yesterday afternoon followed by a scrub for the day then a successful test this morning. It seems like SpaceX has really fast turn around time for pad issues. How long has the shuttle been sitting out there?
ReplyDeleteAfter almost 30 years of launching the space shuttle and now cracks in the tank are causing major delays. I say GO SPACEX!
ReplyDeleteMy cynacism is not directed at the facts of the situation since I know that bad things happen. It is directed at the idea of defining "Success" after the fact. I will bet that the SpaceX test plan did not call for two aborts and then a 2 second burn. Therefore if I win that bet the test was a failure in the eyes of a test engineer such as I.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a SpaceX person can speak up as to how many aborts the test plan allows per successful firing.
As you know as a test engineer, a test is deemed successful only if the requirements are verified. Previous failures to meet requirements do not make the final test that does meet requirements a failure. If requirements are met, success has occured. Previous attempts are irrelevant to success or non-success in these terms.
ReplyDelete